


The Tracking Device

by JuliaFC



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste Knows, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Identity Reveal, Adrien Agreste/Marinette Dupain-Cheng Fluff, F/M, Hot Mess Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Identity Reveal, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-04
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:21:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25067587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JuliaFC/pseuds/JuliaFC
Summary: When Chat Noir discovers a new feature of the communicator, he unexpectedly finds out the identity of his Lady. He knows he shouldn't eavesdrop... or break in a girl's room while she's sleeping... but what do they say? Curiosity killed the cat? And this black cat is indeed very, VERY curious! Full Love Square ships fic.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 104
Kudos: 268
Collections: Miraculous Ladybug and Cat/Chat Noir Reveal





	1. Chapter 1 - Suspicions

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug, Speckleflower, Amberlambda, Mini Noire, genxha and missnoodles**

**Cover art by: Rose Manley**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc; TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

**Chapter 1 - Suspicions**

Adrien tried to hide a small smirk as he kept glancing behind his back. The last thing he wanted was to be caught, but he was dying to see the reaction on her face.

He watched as Marinette sat at her desk and absent-mindedly took her tablet out of her bag. He saw her surprise when she noticed the sticky note. And he couldn't help but snigger a little bit when he saw the blood draining completely from her face as she read it. He quickly turned his head when he saw her frowning and starting to look around, having no doubts that her gaze would be darting across the classroom in a climax of panic.

After all, the note didn't leave much room for interpretation.

"Hey, Bugaboo," the note said. "Tonight, 8 pm, Montparnasse Tower. Bring croissants. I'll bring drinks. Your alley cat."

"Are you okay, girl?" he heard Alya say. He heard no answer, but he supposed that Marinette must have nodded, because Alya continued, "You're as pale as a ghost. What are you hiding? What's the sticky note about?"

He gave another quick glance, just in time to see Marinette putting the sticky note in her jeans' pocket. He couldn't help smirking again. His plan was working beautifully. "Nothing, I'm okay. Really," she muttered unconvincingly.

Alya gave her a sly look, her eyes small slits on her face. "Yeah, right. Sure." He could tell from her tone that she wasn't going to let the subject go so easily, but as Miss Bustier cleared her throat, they had no choice but to pay attention to the lesson.

oOo

It had all started on an otherwise ordinary May evening. Adrien had back to back photoshoots all day, and was so bored to the point of incessant fidgeting by the time evening came. As soon as he finished dinner, he eagerly marched to his room after a hasty goodnight to Natalie and Gorilla. At Nathalie's somewhat questioning look, he explained that he was tired, and asked not to be disturbed. Since tomorrow was Sunday, and he happened to have another day of back to back photoshoots, he was sure that Nathalie would leave him alone.

Yet, he still waited for a while, took a long shower, put his pyjamas on and laid on his bed for a long time. When the nighttime silence of the mansion finally fell, he smiled to himself, knowing it was safe to call his transformation. Plagg hadn't been happy… but for once, Adrien didn't care. Plagg wasn't the one bored to tears smiling to a stupid camera all day. He had been happily nibbling on his camembert while dozing in Adrien's bag, without a care in the world. So… it was only fair that now Adrien got the chance to stretch his legs a little bit.

Chat Noir jumped out of Adrien's room into the darkness. He ran and jumped quickly across a few rooftops, pretending to keep an eye on the roads, simply enjoying the wildness of his run and the feeling of freedom that it entailed. He landed on the Tour Eiffel, on the spot where he usually met Ladybug, but his lady wasn't there today. Yes, he knew that. It wasn't a patrol night and she had told him that she would be busy all day with her parents. However, that didn't stop him from opening his communicator and checking if, by any chance, she was around. He rang her number, but it went straight to voicemail, which meant that she wasn't transformed. He sighed and decided to have a look at the tracking device, just in case she decided to transform in the next few minutes and he could spot her spots as soon as they went on.

That's when he noticed something quite curious. There was a little red dot flashing near an icon labelled as 'last known location' on the tracking device. Was it something new? He had never seen it before. He tapped the little icon, finding out something very interesting. Apparently, the last location Ladybug had been seen at was the Dupain-Cheng's bakery. Chat Noir raised an eyebrow at the discovery, but didn't think much of it, until he found out _another_ very interesting little feature of his communicator, which again he had never noticed before. Apparently, the device held a history of the last seen locations.

He supposed that the feature would be helpful in case one of them was in trouble, or had been forced to drop their transformation and held hostage. Curious, he had a look at it, making a mental note to himself to show the feature to Ladybug the following day on patrol.

But when he clicked on the history and had a look at the locations Ladybug had been last seen at during the last couple of months, his eyebrows furrowed into a frown. The Dupain-Cheng bakery seemed to be one of Ladybug's favourite places to drop her transformation. Either straight on the top of it, or very much around it. Another place she seemed to like dropping her transformation was Collège François Dupont.

He frowned again and his hand moved to his chin as he stared attentively at the screen. Could his Lady be a student at his same school? He remembered the day Ms Mendeliev had been akumatised into Kwamibuster, Plagg and Tikki had been caught by his teacher because they were together… yes, _together_ … in his school. At the time, he had believed Ladybug's words when she had said that Tikki was there only to stop Plagg from getting into trouble. After all, Plagg loved to put himself into trouble, and the whole incident had been entirely his fault. But as he mulled over the events of that day again, he started to find it quite suspicious.

And what was this thing about the bakery? He knew what he should have done. At least, what Ladybug would have expected him to do. She would have expected him to drop the 'investigation' there, because his Lady was adamant about keeping her identity a secret. He knew that very well. He also knew his curiosity could backfire on him. If his Lady decided to pay him back and check his own last seen history, there would be way too many entries at the Agreste mansion… and way too many at the same Collège. Maybe it was better NOT to show Ladybug this feature, just in case. And it would definitely have been better to close down the device right there, right now… and forget about it.

Yet... he couldn't seem to tear his eyes from the last seen history. The more he thought about it, the more the detail sounded suspicious. Yes… the place he dropped his transformation most of the time was indeed the Agreste mansion, or around there. And the reason for it was because he lived there. So what were the odds that… Ladybug actually lived near the bakery?

Or _in it_?

Chat Noir's heart skipped a beat as his eyes became as big as saucers. His head filled with images of Marinette, and he couldn't help it as he started to compare his best friend with his Lady. And for the first time, the images just clicked together.

 _No. No no no no no no no._ It couldn't be. It surely wasn't possible that his Lady had been right next to him - or rather right behind him - all along and he hadn't noticed. No. Marinette couldn't possibly be her. She was too shy, and clumsy…

 _"Oh God I'm so clumsy…"_ he suddenly remembered the day he met Ladybug, when they had faced Stoneheart. The way she had spoken to him, the way she had doubted herself, the way she had acted… so clumsy, so un-hero like… so _Marinette-ish_.

 _No… no no no no no no no._ It couldn't be. It was impossible.

Or _was_ it possible? Maybe it was _perfectly_ possible…

No, it couldn't be.

He had always chosen to not intrude on Ladybug's privacy, respecting her wish to keep her identity a secret. However… when the croissant is put in front of your nose, you can't resist the temptation to at least sniff it, right? Or better… eat it. Now that his curiosity had been teased, he had to find out for sure!

So off he went, jumping and sprinting across the rooftops of Paris, and approached the Dupain-Cheng's bakery, trying to make as little noise as possible. He surely didn't want Marinette to hear him and come out to ask what he was doing there. No. He was on a secret mission.

He landed on the chimney of the neighbouring house and quietly jumped on the railings of Marinette's balcony, and then down onto the balcony itself. He was quite positive that he hadn't made any sound, but he waited for a while, his heart pounding in his chest in anticipation, to ensure that he hadn't been caught. When five minutes passed and Marinette still hadn't popped her head out of the skylight window, Chat allowed himself to breathe again. No, she hadn't heard him.

He tiptoed his way to the side of the skylight window and carefully peeked inside, feeling extremely guilty and uncomfortable. He already knew that Plagg wouldn't approve. He was sure that his cat friend was probably scowling at him right now, from wherever he was when the transformation was active, disapproving his actions. God _he_ disapproved of _his own_ actions… but he couldn't stop himself from eavesdropping. His heart was still pounding madly in its newfound place inside his throat.

Marinette's light was on, he noted, and she was in her room. She seemed to be talking quite animatedly, so Chat Noir perked his cat ears and tried to listen to the conversation. He told himself that he would back out and stop listening if he realised that it was a private conversation completely unrelated to his suspicions.

He pouted in sheer disappointment. No, the sound was too muffled with the skylight door closed and he couldn't hear anything more than a quiet murmur even by listening with his cat ears.

He sighed and kept peeking inside, in case any detail would give away important hints. Marinette was in her pyjamas and was talking on the phone. Based on her exasperated expression, maybe she was talking to Alya. He found himself looking at her inquisitively and spying her expression, the fire in her bluebell eyes, the way she moved, the stern look she was giving to the air in front of her face. She looked so confident now and not at all as shy as she looked when his civilian self was around. But although he felt that he could notice some similarity with his Lady, he suspected it could have been just because his attention had been raised to it and now his mind was actively looking for details that would prove his point. Maybe anyone would have looked like Ladybug in his frame of mind. It didn't mean anything. Or maybe it did? Would he be happy if it turned out that it was her? His hand raised to his chin as he considered the thought for a second. Of course he would be. She was his everyday Ladybug. It would be amazing if it turned out that she was his Ladybug, full stop.

But he was getting tired now, and couldn't think clearly. So he decided to leave his investigation for today and return home for a well deserved and much too delayed rendez-vous with his pillow. He could continue his investigation over the next few days. He would also try to question Plagg, although he knew that the wee god had rules that he had to follow, so he wouldn't be able to spill the beans directly. Maybe he could lure him into slipping and dropping some hints? With the right amount of cheese that is? He didn't know, but he would certainly try!

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Here I am back. I wrote this story for a contest, and again… it was supposed to be a one-shot but… it grew legs. So you get it cut in chapters. Hope you like the concept and the idea. I will update soon with chapter 2. It will be a total of 5 chapters!**

**Please if you read, drop me a note. I love hearing your feedback, every time I receive an email notification from this website my heart melts in anticipation. I love reading what you think of the story and I usually reply as soon as I read the message.**

**Once again, this story is fully written, I'm just posting it in chapters because it makes it easier for you to read it.**

**Thank you again to my wonderful betas, to my friend genxha and to the wonderful people who helped me edit the story on time to get it posted for the contest. I posted it with 2 minutes to spare. Talk about being a last minute gal! ^^;**


	2. Chapter 2 - Adrien Holmes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please note: this chapter is still set before the first scene of chapter 1

**The Tracking Device**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug, Speckleflower, Amberlambda, Mini Noire, genxha and missnoodles**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc; TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

**Chapter 2 - Adrien Holmes**

"Hey, Marinette!" Adrien said smiling brightly. Then he noticed the way she panicked when she saw him and frowned a little bit. Why was she panicking? Had he done something wrong?

"Hey… Adrien…" Her smile looked very tense. Why was he always causing her to become so nervous? "What can you do… I mean, what you do, I mean what can I do for you today?"

Only two attempts. Not too bad. Maybe one day she'd be able to have a full conversation with him. "Nothing really, just wanted to say hi." He looked at her, trying to catch a glimpse of the fiery expression he had seen in her eyes on Saturday night while she was talking on the phone, or a glimpse of anything that could lead to justify his suspicions. But no, Marinette was looking at him with the strangest expression, half between a cringe and a smile. He couldn't define it if he tried. And definitely she didn't have anything that could remind him of his lady in this precise moment of time. "See you in class!"

"Yes, class. You see. See you. Ok, I will just walk away now…" she stuttered.

He sighed and waved to her, as he proceeded towards their class. A feeling of disappointment filled him, a small scowl making itself known. He was starting to doubt that she could be his Lady.

He had spent a good amount of time yesterday, and the night before, arguing with Plagg. As he had suspected, the kwami hadn't been happy at all about Adrien's behaviour. Eavesdropping was a little bit too much even for the wee black cat. He had been there trying to convince Adrien that there may be other reasons why the tracker was showing Ladybug dropping her transformation always near the bakery. "What if she really likes cakes and croissants?" Plagg had asked. "Sugarcube loves all sort of sugary stuff, maybe Pigtails needs to buy cookies for her, and detransforms in front of the bakery to buy some before heading home!"

The argument sort of made sense, but for some reason, Adrien hadn't wanted to listen to him. Now he was starting to change his mind. He really liked Marinette. She was one of his best friends. But… there was absolutely nothing Ladybug-ish in her just now. He felt really sorry for having thought that, but he couldn't help himself. She'd robotically followed him inside the classroom, tripped on her feet before catching herself up in an acrobatic move that would have put an athlete to shame, and managed to not fall face down to the ground. Then, she sat behind him and he heard Alya ask her with what sounded like concern in her voice, "Are you OK, girl?"

"Yes, I'm fine…" Marinette muttered, and then groaned. A quick glance in her direction showed her face down, her forehead resting on the desk in front of her. Maybe Plagg could have a point? Maybe Ladybug was really buying cookies for Tikki? But then… maybe not. Maybe Marinette was only having a worse day than usual. After all.. why was Ladybug dropping her transformation even here at his school? He still wasn't convinced, and he still believed that there were very good chances that his everyday Ladybug and his Lady were just one amazing person.

The lessons today were really boring. Maybe because he wasn't paying attention to them, distracted as he was sneaking looks behind his back and trying to figure Marinette out. He was hoping that they would get an akuma alert, so he could check what kind of expression Marinette would display and what would happen. Normally he was out of the door instantly to get to the toilet and transform. However, this time he would have been willing to be late meeting his Lady, and let her get a head start (or maybe not, if his suspicions were correct!), just to see what Marinette would do. But no akuma decided to show itself today, and by the time the bell of the last lesson rang to break for lunch, Adrien wasn't in any way wiser as to whether his lady really sat behind him in class.

When he walked out of school and saw his sedan waiting for him, he also noticed that Marinette was walking alone towards the bakery. It took him only a handful of seconds to approach the car, gesture to Gorilla to pull down the window, and tell him that he wished to spend his lunch break with a friend, if it was possible. Gorilla frowned at him and grunted his disapproval, but Adrien started walking away anyway, completely ignoring the car that was following him at walking speed. Then, a few cars behind it started beeping furiously and Gorilla, with an exasperated groan, had to leave him there and carry on.

He quickly caught up with Marinette, who seemed quite deflated and was walking very slowly, talking to herself. _Or to her purse,_ Adrien noted. Why would she be talking to her purse? This raised Adrien's suspicions a little bit more. Since the first day he met her, Adrien couldn't remember any time that he had seen Marinette without her little purse. That purse was so small that it couldn't really hold much more than her phone. What was the point of having it on her person all the time unless… it was hiding something (or _someone!_ ) that wasn't for public view...

"Hey, Marinette!" he called, and couldn't help but smile at the jerky reaction that she had at his voice. She straightened her back and blushed profusely.

"Uh… Adrien… doing what? Here doing… What are you doing here?" She became even redder as she spoke. "Your car just went past…"

He beamed when he realised that she was starting to stutter less. Although he found it very cute how she acted around him, sometimes it got a bit.. weird. He didn't want her to feel flustered, but he didn't know what to do to change that. It was frustrating. Cute, but frustrating.

"I kind of forced Gorilla to go and told him I was going to eat lunch with a friend," he said, his hand reaching the nape of his neck. "And uh… I was wondering if… you had any plans…" His blush suddenly matched Marinette's. He wasn't used to being this direct, or getting his own way when dealing with his father or with his bodyguard. He looked around suspiciously, trying to work out whether Gorilla was coming back. Better be quick and enter the bakery before it was too late.

"Aaaaaah… sure. Yes. I mean no, I don't have plans. No plans at all. Just go home and eat with maman and papa." She was looking at something that must have been very interesting, right next to her shoes.

"Do you mind if I join you?" He saw her holding her breath and quickly continued, "I mean as a customer. I will pay. I'll stay in the bakery, I don't want to intrude…" He put his hands up in a defensive pose and couldn't help but blush an even darker shade of red.

"Uh… no, not at all. I'm good. You're good. You wouldn't be intruding. Maman and papa will be happy to have you with us for lunch." Marinette smiled a much warmer smile than the one she had smiled that morning to him. Maybe he just needed to spend some time with her? Maybe this way she would start getting less nervous?

"Cool," he said to himself. "Thank you, Marinette." He kept looking around suspiciously. "Do you mind if we go?" he whispered in a conspiratory way. "I wouldn't want my bodyguard to come back and get me." He grabbed her hand and started walking hastily towards the bakery, not failing to note the beaming grin that had spread all over her face as soon as he had picked her hand up, and also how red her face was. He wondered why...

They entered the bakery together, and Adrien was happy to note that he still couldn't spot Gorilla and his sedan anywhere. He was safe, as long as Nathalie wasn't going to call his mobile.

Which of course happened just as soon as he thought about it. He sighed. "I have to take this," he muttered, and stepped out of the shop.

"Where are you?" was Nathalie's blunt question as soon as he picked up.

"I'm with my friend Marinette. We were going to grab some lunch at her parents' bakery," he admitted guiltily. He knew this could mean the end of his plan, but he knew also that if he lied it would backfire at him.

Nathalie sighed loudly at the other end of the phone. "Okay. It would take too long for the sedan to go back there and collect you, it wouldn't leave you enough time to sit down and eat properly. Eating in a rush is not good for your health, it could make you bloated." She sighed again and then continued, "You can stay there. Try to choose healthy options. Remember to have a balanced spread. We will talk when you get home tonight."

"Yes, Nathalie. Thank you, Nathalie," was all he managed to say. But as soon as he saw the phone hanging up, he allowed himself to smile. Yes! He entered the bakery again, a beaming smile still spreading across his face.

"Oh Adrien, good afternoon," came the voice of Marinette's mother, Sabine Cheng, Adrien remembered. "You look happy… did you get permission to stay?"

"Good afternoon Madame Cheng." Adrien couldn't stop smiling. "Yes, Nathalie, very uncharacteristically, allowed me to stay." A loud gasp came from behind the counter. Undoubtedly Marinette must have been listening.

"Did she really? That's fantastic!" Sabine continued. But she frowned when he started walking towards one of the tables and chairs at the customer's side of the lobby. She came out of the counter, stopping him on his track and giving him a warm look. "Please do come through, we will be delighted to have you upstairs with us. You don't need to stay here. Let me close the shop for a while."

She gently guided him towards the back of the bakery and then went to the door, locked it and turned the "open" sign to "closed". Then, she joined him again and guided him through the big kitchen and to the apartment upstairs. Marinette was just in front of him and he noticed how she was trying her hardest to not look in his direction. She did appear much less nervous and flustered than earlier on in school, though.

"So nice to see you, son," said Mr Dupain towering in front of him. He bent down and wrapped him into such a strong hug that he felt as if he was running out of air.

"Papa! Let him breathe!" said Marinette, who was desperately trying to take her father's hands off him. Tom quickly dropped the hug and muttered words of apology.

"Don't worry Mr Dupain, it's OK," he reassured him. The enormous man then pulled Adrien to the table and told him to sit down, which he dutifully did.

It was nice for once to have people to talk to while eating his food. And have delicious food to accompany the chatter, of course. He wished he was able to sneak out of Gorilla's grip more often, and didn't feel guilty at all at having tricked him. The only problem was that there wasn't much cheese on the table. He managed to grab a slice of what looked like white cheddar, and scowled when he heard the moan coming from his jacket's pocket the second he sneaked the food in it for Plagg to eat. Typical Plagg. Demanding too much...

After they ate, there was still plenty of time left before having to head back to school. Normally for him this would be the time for a quiet study time and a quick nap. Ok, more like just a nap, while Plagg ate his camembert, and no studying, even if Nathalie was convinced otherwise. But not today. Marinette had been quiet during the meal, occasionally glaring at her mother, or at her father, and even more occasionally hissing under her breath for them to not say something, and then looking at him, blushing and smiling her cringe-smile again.

Undoubtedly, she was nervous, although Adrien still had no idea why. But now he saw her sigh, turn towards him and look at him with sheer determination in her eyes. Yes. _That_ was the determination, the one he was looking for. He gulped awkwardly.

"Fancy playing a round of Super Mecha Strike III?" she asked.

Adrien jumped at the chance of playing his favourite game. "Why not? Do we have enough time?" he asked.

Marinette smiled brightly. "Of course. It won't take me too long to beat you!"

"Ha. Don't get too cocky, Marinette!" He smirked and held her gaze. Her shyness seemed to have completely gone, as she smirked back and pretended to put her jacket's sleeves up. She guided him out of the kitchen hastily, but he didn't fail to notice that her parents had given her a small smile and a thumb up. He wondered why, again.

As soon as they were out of her parents' sight, Marinette looked at him and sighed. "I'm sorry about maman and papa," she whispered. "They mean well… but they don't know when to stop."

"Don't even think about it, Marinette! They're lovely," he said, smiling a small smile. Then his smile dropped, as he continued, a little embarrassed to admit it, "This was the best lunch I had in over a year."

He sighed longingly and noticed that Marinette was giving him a soft look. His face became warm under her gaze. Then suddenly, she stopped in her tracks as she started going up the steps to her room. "Uh! Wait for me here, my room is a mess!"

Somehow Adrien didn't think that was true, as every time he had seen Marinette's room, whether invited or not, it had always been spotless. Even on Saturday night, when he had been eavesdropping, he hadn't seen her room in any type of mess. But he didn't want to intrude, so he waited, listening to the creaking sound of feet stomping around, as Marinette hastily ran across her room upstairs. After a couple of minutes, her flushed face popped out of the trapdoor. "Ok, you're safe. I mean, it's safe... for you to come up."

They spent the next twenty minutes playing, and Adrien deeply enjoyed the experience, although he hated the losing bit. And he lost. Every. Single. Time. He had growled in frustration so many times he'd lost count. Marinette though looked very confident in herself and for the purpose of his investigation, he was glad that they were playing. She looked much more Ladybug-ish while destroying him at videogames.

Then Marinette looked at the time and cringed. "We need to head back to school very shortly," she said. "Can you wait here for a sec? I need the toilet."

Adrien nodded and followed her with his gaze until she was out of his sight. Then he rubbed his hands. What a prime opportunity to have a look around undisturbed.

"I know what you're planning to do, and I would like anyone that is at hearing distance to know that I _object_!" said Plagg's voice from the pocket inside his shirt, raising the tone when he said the last bit.

"Oh go on, Plagg, stop being so dramatic." Adrien snorted. Then he raised an eyebrow and looked at his black cat friend suspiciously. "Whom are you talking to exactly, by the way?"

Plagg sighed. "None of your business, kid. Now, if you'd _please_ stop having weird ideas and sit down in your chair, waiting calmly for Pigtails to come back…"

But Adrien ignored him and started glancing around. Nothing in the room raised any suspicion though, and he had almost given up, when he noticed a drawer in Marinette's press that was slightly open. With a frown, he gave a small peek and again raised an eyebrow when around three dozen pictures of himself stared back.

So… _that's_ what she had been doing… he looked around and he became quite aware that her walls were much more bare of pictures of him than he had seen just the night before. He made a small smile, wondering why she had to hide away pictures when she had explained to him very clearly that she was only interested in fashion… but then, his eyes noticed something red hidden at the back of the drawer. He cautiously glanced at the trapdoor, but Marinette wasn't back yet. He heard her voice talking to her mother downstairs. So he dared open the drawer a bit more. Then a bit more.

"What are you doing now? Isn't just nosing around enough? Now you need to peek into closed drawers?" Plagg tried to close the drawer in what looked like a frenzy of pure panic. He looked way too concerned by Adrien's behaviour, and this raised even more of Adrien's suspicions. He held the drawer's handle firmly and to counteract Plagg's attempt at closing it, he pulled maybe stronger than he should have, slamming the drawer open and revealing its content. And that's when he saw it. Among more of his pictures that he thought was humanly possible to store, and a few other things he didn't recognise, there it stood. Red with black spots, exuding mightiness at the mere presence of it.

The _miracle box_?

Adrien's eyes became as wide as saucers, his heart pounding in his throat as his right hand moved automatically towards the box. He _had_ to be sure. After all… it could be only a bag shaped like a ladybug, right? A small briefcase… _right_? But suddenly, he heard Marinette's voice getting louder and louder, and hastily, he closed the drawer and returned to his seat. He cleaned the beads of sweat that had formed on his forehead with his bare hand. He saw Marinette's head popping out of the trapdoor and gave her his trademark model smile.

"Are you okay, Adrien?" Marinette asked after giving him a strange look. "You seem… uncomfortable."

He still couldn't get to stop his heart pounding madly in its new found place inside his throat. "I'm okay, yes. Totally okay."

Her eyebrows furrowed into a frown. "Right…" she said, and then continued, "we better head back to school then. Sorry it took me so long, maman asked for my help downstairs, she had a long queue of customers."

"N-not a p-problem at all…" he said, kicking himself for the stuttering. So now… were the roles inverted? Was he the one that stuttered? He kicked himself again. Get a grip, Agreste! He followed her downstairs and then back to school

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**There, it is, as promised. Chapter 2 is up. I would like to say THANK YOU so much for the wonderful response that I'm getting for this story! I love you all so much! As you may have understood, the first scene of chapter one is a teaser for later on in the story. ⅘ of the story is how Adrien gets to write that sticky note.**

**Please continue to send feedback! I'm addicted to the comments and am so happy every time I see a review! I couldn't believe the amount of love I received when I posted this story. Thank you all so much for the comments, favs, follows, bookmarks and kudos!**

**Thank you again to my wonderful betas, to my friend genxha and to the wonderful people who helped me edit the story on time to get it posted for the contest. I didn't get even one single vote for that contest, but the love I got from here and Fanfiction.net made up for it :)**

**Next chapter will be up on (or just before) the weekend :)**


	3. Eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Even this chapter (and the next) is set before the first scene of chapter 1. Just so you know!

**The Tracking Device**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug, Speckleflower, Amberlambda, Mini Noire, genxha and missnoodles**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc; TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

**Chapter 3 - Eavesdropping**

Plagg had objected. And objected again. He had refused to cooperate, and closed his ears shut with his paws, pretending that this gesture would sabotage the transformation. He had begged Adrien to change his mind, and then blackmailed that he was going to talk to Sugarcube and have Ladybug take away his ring. But Adrien wasn't going to be fooled. He was sick and tired of being kept in the dark and wanted to finally do something to discover the truth.

And this time, he was so close to the truth! He had found what he was almost 100% sure was the miracle box in Marinette's drawer! There were only two reasons why the box could possibly be there, and one of them sounded so absurd that it only really left one. Because it was impossible that Ladybug had given the miracle box to Marinette to keep, no matter how good a friend Marinette could be to her. No. The responsibility of holding all those kwamis, the danger she would put Marinette in, would surely have discouraged her. Then… there was only one possibility left.

Marinette was Ladybug. And if that was the case, he would have hit the jackpot. He would be delighted. And terrified at the same time… but delighted, mostly. And he couldn't take the smile off his face, the more he thought about it. The more he compared the two girls in his head. The more he compared his own feelings about the two girls. The more he analysed just how amazing Marinette was, and what an idiot he could have been to not realise it. He had even nicknamed her his 'everyday Ladybug'! And yet, the thought that she could be his Lady had never crossed his mind. Until now.

He had to make sure. Hence, completely ignoring Plagg's pleas to stop and reconsider, as soon as he'd finished his dinner and had locked himself in his room, he called his transformation and jumped out of the window.

The sun was slowly setting and the sky was showing a magnificent display of clouds with golden and silver lining, coloured in shades of crimson, indigo and dark blue. It was breathtaking, so Chat Noir stopped at the top of a roof almost next door to Marinette's house and watched the sky slowly turning into darkness before continuing quietly towards the balcony. He wasn't in a rush, after all, he had all the time in the world tonight.

Once again, he landed on a chimney nearby and then moved softly to the top of Marinette's railings and then on the floor of the balcony, making sure that he landed so quietly that Marinette wouldn't hear him. And again, he waited for a minute, holding his breath and watching the skylight door with a sheepish look; but Marinette didn't show her face. He breathed out.

Today there was a slight difference from the previous day he'd eavesdropped. The skylight door was slightly open, which meant that he could actually hear what was happening in the room. He cautiously gave a peek inside and saw that Marinette was sitting on her bed in her pyjamas, talking to Alya, who was sitting at the side of the bed, still dressed. He breathed - he hadn't heard them mentioning anything about a sleepover tonight, but had Alya been in her pyjamas then he may not have been able to do what he was planning to do. It was hard enough to sneak in a room having to worry only about one girl sleeping. Two would have been a clear sign that he should turn tail and not do this.

"So you're telling me that he was here playing videogames with you all lunch break… and you didn't do or said anything to him? Just played?" Alya was saying.

Whoops. They were talking about him. Maybe he should come back another night.

Marinette sighed. "What exactly should I have said to him, Alya? You know that I get all tongue tied in front of him! Even if he's with Kagami now, and I know he's not single any more, I still can't get my nerves together and talk to him properly!"

He _what_! He gasped so loudly that he was surprised that the girls hadn't heard him. Why did everyone always assume things about him? He wasn't in a relationship with Kagami! She was a good friend. He had thought about maybe starting something a bit more… romantic with her, but when she had tried to kiss him, he had felt something really wrong inside and hadn't been able to get back to the right frame of mind. They were only friends! He pouted grudgingly and folded his arms on his chest.

"Nino said that he hasn't heard Buttercup talk about Kagami that much for a while. Sorry to break your bubble, Marinette, but I personally don't think that they're together." Chat Noir saw Alya give Marinette a knowing look. "I think that the hunt is still on."

_Buttercup? Hunt?_

Marinette's blushed profusely. "But even so… what should I have done? We both know what happened last time I tried to be myself and left him a message on his voicemail…"

Huh? What message?

"Which you should have left where it was and carried on with your day. I don't know… stealing his phone to cancel the message wasn't really the brightest idea you've ever had."

He gulped awkwardly. Stealing his phone? Were they talking about the day Copycat was akumatised? When he couldn't find his phone for ages? Was this what happened? He had a good look at Marinette's face, and noticed that she looked even more flushed. Yes, apparently that's exactly what happened.

"Are you crazy or something? I had called him 'hot stuff'!" Chat Noir raised an eyebrow as he felt blood rushing to his face. He was probably matching the same shade of red as Marinette now. "I had been all cocky and horrible and had asked him for a date in the most unromantic way ever!"

Was she… was she really… No, that couldn't be true. What about Luka? No… Weren't black cats meant to be unlucky?

"All right, Marinette, but how long do you still want to hold on before telling your crush that you're head over heels in love with him? This is getting so old..." Alya sounded extremely frustrated, and had raised her voice so much that even without cat ears, Chat Noir wouldn't have missed a word. He really shouldn't have been there listening to this conversation. Nope.

Yet, he didn't move a muscle, as his ears perked up to listen more intently. His heart pounding madly in his chest.

Marinette curled up on her bed, hiding her face on her knees. "It's not that easy… you don't understand. I just can't go there and tell him, 'Hey, handsome, I've loved you from the day you gave me your umbrella. Can we hang out together?' It's just not me!"

"I think this was already established ages ago, Marinette. No need for you to repeat it."

"You seemed to need me to say it again. I just can't be this direct." Marinette groaned. "I love him so much Alya… but I'm so hopeless." Her voice cracked and she started sobbing softly. Chat Noir wished that the ground would open under his feet and swallow him whole.

He turned around and leaned his back on the wall of Marinette's balcony, letting his legs bend and ending up sitting on the floor. What kind of idiot could he be? So that was the reason for all the stuttering, for the nervousness, for the pictures… for her hiding the pictures away every time he was in her room? He had been so blinded by his feelings for Ladybug that he had completely failed to see that Marinette had a crush on him. Amazing, sweet Marinette. His heart was racing in his chest as his emotions went into overdrive. Was he having these feelings only because he thought she could be Ladybug? Or maybe he would have felt like this even if he didn't suspect that she was his Lady?

And then, the thought just hit him like a punch in the stomach.

_"There's this boy,"_ Ladybug had said to Chat Noir a long time ago. If Marinette was really Ladybug... Was that boy… _him?_ Had she been turning him down... for him?

The irony of the whole situation was overwhelming. He closed his eyes and chuckled softly.

He rested his chin on his knees and looked at the air in front of his face, trying desperately to digest all this information. Plagg was right. He shouldn't have come here today. Eavesdropping wasn't the right thing to do.

Or was it?

How long he would still have been in the dark had he not been at the right place at the right time for once in his life? She said that she liked him from the day he gave her his umbrella? From frigging _day one_?

He put his hands on each side of his head, and then he cupped both to his mouth before hiding his face on his knees again. He was a true idiot.

Suddenly, he heard Alya say that it was getting late and she needed to go home. He shook his head, trying to wake up from his overload instilled réverie, and turned quickly to peek at the window. Alya was putting her jacket on.

"It's progress anyway that you two managed to have a meal together, and play videogames," she was saying. "I'm proud of you, Marinette! You even managed to say a few sentences without stuttering, from what Sabine said."

Marinette blushed pink. "Yes, I did… and I beat him every single time at Mecha Strike. I suppose I got a bit cocky, because I didn't stutter much after that."

Alya laughed. "Had I known that all you needed to get rid of your shyness was to kick his arse a few times at Mecha Strike, I would have planned a few gaming sessions and invited him!"

"And his father would have forbidden it…" Marinette sighed. She had a point. Chat Noir also sighed, feeling suddenly deflated.

Alya shrugged. "Nah, I would have found a way. A school project maybe… I can still do it, Marinette!" She beamed and smiled from ear to ear. "Yes, leave it to me, girl. I'll organise something with Nino!"

"Alya, please no… don't embarrass me like this…" Marinette pleaded, as they approached the trapdoor, but Alya didn't lose the determined gleam in her eyes.

"Who said you would need to be embarrassed?" she retorted and then the two girls disappeared under the trapdoor.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Happy birthday to me! LOL. Yes, today's my birthday, so you get chapter 3… hope you like it! It's always nice to see the moment our handsome sunshine manages to open his eyes… Again, this chapter is set before scene 1, and so is the next. I really can't wait for you to read the next chapter *evil laugh***

**Please continue to send feedback! Make my day, I'm so happy every time I see a review! I still can't believe the amount of love I received when I posted this story. Thank you all so much for the comments, favs, follows, bookmarks and kudos!**

**Thank you again to my wonderful betas, to my friend genxha and to the wonderful people who helped me edit the story, from the miraculous discord server[Miraculous Fanworks](https://discord.gg/5AQxgw).**

**Next chapter will be up mid next week. :)**


	4. Curiosity Killed the Chat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still placed before scene 1 chapter 1

**The Tracking Device**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug, Speckleflower, Amberlambda, Mini Noire, genxha and missnoodles**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc; TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

###  **Chapter 4 - Curiosity Killed the Chat!**

Chat Noir considered entering Marinette’s room now that the bluenette was downstairs to say goodbye to Alya, but quickly changed his mind. And that was a good idea because, after only a couple of minutes, Marinette came back. Phew. He wouldn’t have had enough time to look around properly, even if he knew where the miracle box (or better, what he thought was the miracle box!) was hidden now. 

He saw Marinette going to her desk and flick through her computer, debating with himself whether it was a good idea for him to stay there, or if it was better to do a quick turn of patrol and return when he would see her light switch off. It was boring looking at her sewing or staring at her computer for who knows how long; however, he was also curious, because if Marinette was really Ladybug, then at some point Tikki would need to show up. And then… he wouldn’t even need to get into her room in the first place to check on the miracle box. He would have his answer. 

But suddenly, Marinette looked up, and his heart skipped a beat. She started climbing the stairs to the mezzanine that held her bed, and Chat Noir quickly fled off the balcony and landed with a soft thump on a roof nearby. He saw Marinette coming out of the skylight door and walking to the bannister of her balcony, looking dreamily at the city in front of her. 

He may have just pushed his luck and done what he’d done the day Andre was akumatised, pop up at her balcony now and have a chat with her. But… he had a feeling this could delay her chance of going to bed. Last time they had quite a long conversation. So… the only other option was to go on patrol or to just jump across a few rooftops, drop his transformation and listen to Plagg moan and whine and maybe tell him off for what he’d done. 

He decided for both. A quick stroll would be good to stretch his legs, and after that, if Marinette was still out on her balcony, he would hide and give Plagg a bit of a rest. And so he did. Very soon he was back on the same rooftop, but unfortunately, Marinette was still out, her gaze lost looking toward Notre Dame all lit up in the darkness. 

He sighed and moved to a more secluded rooftop, the same one that he had decorated with candles and petals the day Andre had been akumatised. He sat in hiding and dropped his transformation. Plagg flew in front of his nose and glared at him.

"What did I tell you? But no, you wouldn’t listen." Adrien gave him a sheepish look full of guilt, as Plagg folded his paws on his chest. “I hope you have some Camembert with you."

Adrien scowled and searched in the inside pocket of his shirt, taking out a small slice of Camembert. Plagg snatched it off so quickly that Adrien was left wondering if it had been in his hand at all. 

"I know," he mused. “I didn’t expect to find out something like that." He sighed, hiding his face again behind his knees. “I’m a complete idiot, aren’t I?"

"Yep." Plagg popped the p with what sounded a feeling of great satisfaction. “At least something good came from this ordeal. You finally opened your eyes. Or should I say your eavesdropping ears…"

“She _loves_ me, Plagg…” he whispered, his face getting more and more flustered and warm the more he thought about it and the more he looked into the electric green eyes of his kwami friend.

Plagg sighed. “I know.”

“She stole my phone to delete a message where she called me _hot stuff_ …” His face felt even warmer. His cheeks were on fire. “She wanted to ask me out…”

Plagg nibbled his cheese thoughtfully. “ _That_ I didn’t know myself...”

“You mean… that you knew that she loved me?” Adrien gave an inquisitorial look at Plagg, who glanced at him sheepishly. “Oh my God… you _knew_! Why was I the only one who couldn’t see it?” Plagg tried to talk, or at least his mouth opened… but then he kept quiet 

Adrien groaned loudly. “This is _absurd_ , Plagg. If Marinette is _really_ Ladybug… She rejected me… for me!" There was a hint of mockery in Plagg’s emerald eyes as they returned his gaze..

"So...what are you going to do now?" he eventually asked. “Something tells me that you’re still up to the idea of breaking into her room while she’s sleeping."

Adrien sighed. “I was hoping she would start talking to Tikki at some point before going to bed tonight so that I wouldn’t need to do that." He stood up and moved to the corner of the wall, in a position where he could look at her balcony. She was still out. “But I can’t spy on her while she’s on her balcony, so… I guess I will have to break in."

"You know you don’t _have_ to break in, kid. You can just go home and forget about this whole thing." Plagg flew into Adrien’s inside pocket and emerged with yet another slice of camembert, which he proceeded to start nibbling with evident pleasure. “Or rather don’t forget the _whole thing_ , please… it’s going to be fun to see what you’re going to do tomorrow in school, now that your eyes are open…"

"Ok then… I _want_ to break in. I know I don’t have to but… yes, I need to know. I need the whole picture. And I have to be sure." Plagg sighed, but Adrien ignored him again. He looked at the clock on his phone. It was nearly eleven… What was Marinette doing still awake this late on a school night? But as he thought that, he saw that she was stretching her arms (her pyjamas top lifted up and showed the skin of her tummy… Adrien’s face tinged pink) and started walking back to the skylight door. She quickly disappeared behind it and it didn’t take long before finally, her light switched off. 

Adrien waited a few more minutes, then called his transformation and jumped cautiously towards the balcony. 

When he got there, Marinette’s room was dark, but his night vision helped him make out the shape of Marinette tucked in her bed. She was still awake… supposedly talking to someone, but he couldn’t see anybody. The skylight door was still open, but she was whispering so softly that he couldn’t make out exactly what she was saying. Something about Alya though, and about getting embarrassed. Maybe she was talking to herself (or to Tikki? Why couldn’t he see the kwami if that was the case? He looked around carefully, but couldn’t spot Tikki anywhere!) about what she discussed with Alya just a short while back. Merely thinking about it made his cheeks catch fire. 

He was also getting sleepy… and started considering the idea of going away and coming back on a non-school night. But as he thought that, he saw that Marinette had finally closed her eyes. He didn’t break in immediately though. No, that would have been a bad idea. He had to wait until she had gone into a deep sleep. So he kept waiting and staring at Marinette’s sleeping face. 

God, she was pretty. He hadn’t really thought too much about it, blinded as he was in his pursuit of his spotted partner. The only time he had really noticed that she was so pretty had been when he saw her with her hair down coming out of the ball pool, the day the Bourgeois had been akumatised together. But looking at her now that she was sleeping so peacefully, and knowing that she also had feelings for him... started making him feel butterflies in his stomach. This beautiful, gorgeous girl… kind, creative, headstrong, caring, amazing in every possible way… was ‘head over heels’ in love with him. She didn’t just _like_ him… she said that she _loved_ him. She was getting nervous and all tongue-tied when she tried to talk to him. How stupid of him to not realise that it happened only around him. And according to Alya, she had been trying to confess to him all this time with no luck.

Well… that would need to change, and pretty quickly, he decided. Now if he only could ensure that his suspicions were right because otherwise, he was seriously risking falling in love with two different girls at the same time… if he hadn't already. He sighed, trying to calm down the flutters of the butterflies filling his stomach. 

He would need to come up with some sort of plan. But first… the miracle box. 

He looked at Marinette’s regular breathing under her light blanket and decided that she must be finally gone into a sleep deep enough to not wake up if he broke in. So he gingerly moved the glass of the skylight door open and cautiously popped his head inside. He looked down and decided that the safest way for him to get in was to use his baton and land on the floor next to her bed. When he did that, he took a minute to look at Marinette again and ensure that the sudden gush of wind caused by his movements hadn’t woken her up. No, she was still sleeping, her breathing nice and regular. He took a whispered sigh of relief. 

He looked around the room, his night vision helping him discern the shapes of the furniture and the direction to the stairs. He tiptoed his way to the stairs and then climbed down a level. He took another sigh of relief. The plan was working perfectly, but he had to be quick. He didn’t want to waste time and risk Marinette waking up for some reason and finding him. 

His gaze darted around the room, and his eyes were met with around forty or fifty pairs of his own eyes staring back from all the pictures that had been hidden in that drawer and now put back on the wall. She had been quick at putting the pictures back up. Now that he could have a good look at her room, he started to understand why she didn’t want him to see those pictures there. Some of them even had little hearts drawn on them, and there were way too many pictures around. Every inch of the wall was covered in them. Maybe he had misjudged the quantity… fifty wasn't enough, there must have been more. It felt almost… overbearing and had he seen it before now, he would have felt a little intimidated. Even if he had thought that she put the pictures up because she loved fashion, and not him. 

But enough of staring at his pictures. He had work to do. He looked around again, trying to remember which press was the one that held the drawer that contained the miracle box. He thought he’d recognised it on the side of her desk, so he walked cautiously towards it and took his time to open it without making a sound. A couple of pink coloured lace bras came into view. He quickly closed the drawer as his cheeks turned fiercely red. No. Not the right drawer. He looked around again, scratching his head. Even with night vision, at night time the room looked a bit different from the previous day in daylight. He walked to the chair where they had sat to play the game and turned around, trying to figure out which drawer the box was hidden in. 

There. He opened another drawer, in a position that closely reminded him of where he had seen the box. A few pictures of himself were piled around and his heart started pounding faster. Yes, he remembered those pictures, they were definitely the ones he’d seen today at lunchtime. He let himself get excited and opened the drawer maybe a bit more hastily than he should have. And there it was again. It hadn’t been moved a millimetre. But as his hand started moving again towards the box, he thought he’d seen a flash of something dashing away out of the corner of his eye. Blood drained from his face and he quickly turned, scanning the room worriedly. No, he couldn’t see anything or anyone. He turned again towards the box and with a firm movement of his hand, he touched one of the spots.

His heart stopped as a flash of multicoloured light shone all across the room. The black spots started moving and opening up, revealing the miraculouses inside. Chat Noir panicked and closed the drawer hastily, allowing the room to return into darkness.

Oh, God. Oh dear God. It was _really_ the miracle box. Yes. That was it. He had to grab all his courage to dare peek in the drawer again, the light of the opened box lighting all the room as if it was noon. Yes. There was no doubt. He recognized the miraculous of the snake, and a necklace that looked like a fox’s tail, and the bracelet he’d seen on Carapace's wrist… he heard a noise and closed the drawer hastily, tiptoeing his way behind the chaise, to ensure that Marinette hadn’t been woken up by the light. But nothing seemed to be happening, so Chat Noir dared to tiptoe his way back to the drawer. 

But he had barely managed to put his hand again on the handle to open it, when something extremely hard hit his head. There was a scream, as a weight jumped on him and mounted his back.

"PAAAAAAAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! I CAUGHT A THIEF!!!!! HEEEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEEE!!!!" Marinette was screaming her lungs out and her hands were wrapped firmly around his neck, trying to choke him. She was so strong, so fierce in her panic that Adrien felt completely immobilised under her weight, even if he was still transformed as Chat Noir. _What kind of strength can a small girl like this have? God almighty please help me!_

"Wait…" he tried to say the second that her hands released his throat enough for him to breathe. “Please… _M’lady_ …" He only whispered the last bit, but it was enough to stop Marinette as she instantly froze. She released his throat but wrapped strongly around his chest, in a way that didn’t allow him to move. Her hands had captured his and were keeping his behind his back, underneath her. 

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she kept shouting, but her tone of voice wasn’t as high pitched. 

Chat Noir coughed loudly, as soon as her hands released his throat, hoping that he wouldn’t get any marks on his neck. That would be a bit hard to explain to Nathalie in the morning. “It’s me, Chat Noir!" he managed to say eventually in between coughs. But as soon as he felt Marinette’s grip starting to loosen, he heard the trapdoor open and saw a flash of light, probably from a torch, that completely blinded him. 

"What’s going on here?" boomed Mr Dupain’s voice. 

_Crap. Crap crap crap crap crap!_ He felt someone walking past them and suddenly the light in Marinette’s room was switched on. They both found themselves facing the sleepy, but livid glares of Tom and Sabine, whose arms were folded on their chests. Sabine’s right foot was tapping the floor angrily. 

Chat Noir gulped. “Uh…" he managed to say. It didn’t help. 

"You’re both too young for this," said Sabine sternly, immediately followed by Tom who continued with a, “And certainly not in MY house, under MY roof!" as Sabine continued, “We haven’t even given her the _sex talk_ yet!" 

“She’s too innocent, too pure!" Tom added.

Marinette and Chat Noir both became the colour of a beetroot.

"Papa! Maman! What are you talking about?" said Marinette, her shaky voice feigning shock, but not achieving her aim, not in the slightest. “I called for _help_ ! I thought he was a _thief_!"

"She _attacked_ me!" exclaimed Chat Noir, to oppose her claim. 

"What were you doing here in my room during the night, Chat Noir?" snapped Marinette. Her voice wasn’t feigning anything now, she sounded genuinely angry and upset.

"I…" Chat Noir’s gaze darted from Tom to Sabine. Both of Marinette’s parents had a disbelieving look on their face, their eyes as thin as slits. He had to think quickly. He had to find an excuse. Please God, he had to find an excuse! Where was his wit when he needed it? “I saw… Ladybug’s icon. On my communicator. It was here. And I thought… you might be in danger. I thought… an akuma… so I came to check…" Marinette’s parents' gaze softened. Thank God for that. 

"So you weren’t here to attack the honour of my little girl?" asked Tom, his tone of voice still cold and stern. 

"NO! What made you think that?" Chat Noir thought he must have reached a shade of purple that was still unknown to mankind. His face felt hotter than ever and felt even hotter as he followed Tom’s gaze to their position on the ground. 

Tom sighed. “I don’t know if I’m going to believe that," he muttered.

"I have proof! Wait!" he tried to reach for his communicator and instead grabbed something soft and warm. That was… that was Marinette’s… _bum_? His face was renewed of its warmth, as he slammed his fists on the ground in frustration and defeat, his heart pounding madly in his chest. His hand felt on fire.. 

But after an initial squeal and slap on his head, Marinette must have noticed what he was trying to do, and the awkward position they were still in because she dismounted him. He finally managed to sit up and picked his communicator from behind his back. He skimmed through a few screens and then turned the device so that Mr Dupain could see. 

"There," he said. The device showed the ‘last seen’ page, with Ladybug’s icon _thankfully_ right on top of their house. He would have been so in trouble if it had been anywhere else! Mr Dupain and Mrs Cheng looked at the screen pointedly.

"What am I looking at?" asked Tom. 

Chat Noir sighed. “This is our tracking device. It tells us where the other one is, so if we need help, we can reach each other. As you can see, Ladybug’s icon was here. So I thought she may be fighting an akuma."

He clearly saw Tom’s shoulders relax after comprehension dawned on him. “So… you came in thinking that Ladybug was in danger…" he said. 

And Sabine continued, “And Marinette thought you were a thief and attacked you."

Both kids nodded nervously. Marinette looked at Chat Noir, and he could see clearly that she hadn’t bought his claim. She hadn’t bought it _at all_. But he would worry about that later. Now the important thing was that Mr Dupain and Mrs Cheng had believed him. 

"But it looks like the place is clear and safe… so if you don’t mind… I will go." He stood nervously and mechanically started walking to the steps that took to the mezzanine of Marinette’s bed. He used his baton to reach the mezzanine, and with a jump and a salute, he was gone. 

* * *

**Author’s Note:**

**Joyeux 14 de Juillet! So… what do you think? Was it worthy of an evil laugh? ^-^ So here we are. Adrien managed to escape now… but he knows perfectly well that he is due some serious explanation next time that he sees his Lady. She knows that he knows. Hope that now it’s clear why, next morning, he drops her that sticky note.**

**Please continue to send feedback! I still can’t believe the amount of love I received when I posted this story. Thank you all so much for the comments, favs, follows, bookmarks and kudos! I’m seriously overwhelmed O_O thank you so much!**

**Thank you again to my wonderful betas, to my friend genxha and to the wonderful people who helped me edit the story, from the miraculous discord server** [ **https://discord.gg/5AQxgw** ](https://discord.gg/5AQxgw)

**The final chapter will be up towards the end of the week :) Yes I know. I hear you. It’s nearly finished. *SOBS***


	5. Chapter 5 - Decisions, Doubts and... Dates

**The Tracking Device**

**Written by: JuliaFC**

**Beta-read by: Agrestebug, Speckleflower, Amberlambda, Mini Noire, genxha and missnoodles**

**Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by (c) Thomas Astruc; TS1 Bouygues, Disney Channel, Zagtoon, Toei Animation. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.**

**oOo**

###  **Chapter 5 - Doubts, Decisions and… Dates**

Marinette said goodnight to her parents, after persuading them again that there was nothing at all going on between her and Chat Noir, and that the hero must really have thought that Ladybug was in danger. Then she turned off her light and sighed. 

"He called me M'lady," she whispered. 

Tikki came out from behind one of the presses and floated in front of her nose. “He saw the miracle box. He opened it, Marinette!" 

"This is a disaster, Tikki! He  _ knows _ . He knows my identity! What am I going to do?" Marinette's hands flew to her temples as her eyes became as big as saucers. “I can't bear to lose him. We've been together from the start. He's my best friend, Tikki. He saved my life more times than I can count. We complete each other. He's always there for me, to take me out of my hole if I feel I can't take it any longer. I wouldn’t be able to think of anyone else being Chat Noir!" Tears were rolling out her eyes and down her cheeks. 

"You don't have to take his miraculous away, Marinette!" The red kwami stroke her cheek gently. “Those were Master Fu's rules. Now  _ you're  _ the guardian. If you decide you want him to know, and you too want to know who he is, it's  _ your  _ rule,  _ your  _ decision."

"But Master Fu had a point. What if Hawkmoth gets ahold of one of us and uses them to get to the other?" She was sobbing quietly into her pillow. “And Chat Blanc… he knew who I was and that knowledge could have caused him to get akumatised!"

Tikki sighed and shook her head slowly. “Marinette, be reasonable. I doubt that the mere knowledge that you're Ladybug caused Chat Noir to get akumatised. You're a good friend to him and he's shown you a side of himself that he still hadn't shown to Ladybug, the day the ice cream man was akumatised. People don't tend to do that unless they think very highly of the other person and trust them completely." She stroked her cheek again. “I'm sure that something else broke his heart, not the fact that he knew your identity."

"He said that our  _ love _ had done it." Marinette sniffed loudly.

"I wouldn’t believe everything that a person who's been akumatised would say," mused Tikki. “I'm not saying that he lied, but his judgement was obviously tarnished. You worry too much."

"What should I do then?" Marinette mused. “He knows who I am. Should I ask him to show me who he is?"

"Do you think that the water is boiling, Marinette? Or just simmering?" asked the kwami.

Marinette sighed. “It's hard to tell, Tikki!" She sighed again. “It's hard to tell."

"Then, don't demand anything.” Tikki looked at her wisely. “Just wait and see what happens. But if Chat Noir decides that he wants to show you, maybe accept without fighting him. Your miraculous and his are most powerful when you're both balanced. Right now, with him knowing your identity but you kept in the dark, the balance is compromised. That’s even more dangerous than you two knowing each other’s identity.” 

Marinette hugged Tikki softly and lied down in bed, so drained by the events that she fell asleep almost instantly.

oOo

Chat Noir jumped from rooftop to rooftop hastily, until he landed in his room through his open window. He stood and jumped flat on his bed, without dropping his transformation. He knew it wasn’t fair on Plagg. The black kwami must be tired and hungry. But the last thing he wanted right now was to listen to his justifiable remarks and listen to him cackle at the memory of the embarrassing situation he had found himself in. 

Marinette’s parents were… something else. That was for sure. They were lovely… but definitely something else. How was he supposed to look at Marinette in the eye the following day at school? They were talking about  _ sex _ ! His face felt warm at the mere recollection of what they'd said. So embarrassing! He wanted to dig a hole on the ground and hide. He cupped his hands over his eyes and cringed. 

Eventually though, he started feeling sorry for Plagg, so he called off his transformation with a curt, “Claws in.” Plagg appeared and dropped dramatically on his bed, next to him. 

“What’s your excuse for waiting so long to drop your transformation?” he scolded Adrien. 

Adrien sighed. “I didn’t want you to tell me off,” he said truthfully. 

The black kwami flew in front of his face and pouted. “That’s not fair, Adrien.”

“I know, sorry,” he admitted. “And I know you’ve told me not to do it and I should have listened, Plagg. But… I was right. That was the miracle box. Marinette is Ladybug.”

The kwami’s pout became stronger. “Yes. What are you going to do now?”

“Do you think she will take the ring from me?” He looked at the ring and glanced guiltily at his black, furry friend. 

As much as Plagg annoyed him sometimes, Adrien still loved him. He was his only real friend and confidante who understood him completely. And although his dry sense of humour and his snarky words were all but comforting most times, the little creature knew when he seriously needed his help. He would be devastated to lose him. And to lose the freedom the black cat’s miraculous gave him. He felt a jealousy pang even at the mere thought of someone else being the Black Cat and protecting his Lady. 

“No idea,” admitted Plagg, sounding a little worried himself by the thought. “It’s all up to Pigtails. She’s the guardian now… it’s her rule, her choice. You might be lucky.”

“Why? She’s always been so adamant that she wanted to keep her identity a secret! How can it be lucky for me that she’s the one who decides?” Adrien’s voice was cracking a little bit.

Plagg sighed. “Did you already forget the conversation between Pigtails and Reporter-girl? She  _ loves  _ you. Why would she want to get rid of you?” The kwami shrugged and uttered a frustrated moan. “I’ve told you plenty of times. You'll have better luck dealing with cheese.”

Adrien’s eyes rolled up. Plagg and his cheese. But hopefully, he had a point. “Does it mean that I need to tell her who I am now? Otherwise, how would she know?”

“I can’t help you with that, kid. It’s your choice.” Plagg flew to the press that held his cheese and disappeared inside. 

oOo

So, that’s how he decided to stick the post-it to her tablet. Or rather, ask Plagg to do it by bribing him with a particularly well-seasoned wheel of Camembert. And now there he was, sitting atop Montparnasse Tower, staring at the city lights slowly switching on and at the shades of gold and red of the sunset slowly fading into crimson and indigo. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, the air was nice and warm. 

“Little kitty on the roof, all alone without his Lady…” 

He heard the sound of the yoyo zipping around, and he knew that Ladybug had arrived even before hearing the soft thump behind him. He turned around towards her, totally aware of the look of pure shock that was spreading across her face. Even with the backlight of the setting sun, she knew perfectly well who was in front of her. 

“A-Adrien…” He heard her say softly. A gloved hand reaching her mouth. “What… are you…”

He smiled a toothy smile and showed her a bottle of lemonade and two glasses. “Did you bring the croissants?” And then he watched, as the gleam of understanding spread all over her face. Her eyes widened in shock and she started walking backwards. 

“No. That’s… impossible…” 

His smile fell. She was still shocked. Why was she still shocked? He thought she would be happy! “Bugaboo?” he said. “What’s wrong?” He saw tears in her eyes and he got off the bannister he was sitting on and walked towards her. 

“I…I came here with all intention of telling you off. I wanted to kick your arse and make you pay for having come into my room and looked through my stuff. And why did you do that, Chaton?” She gulped as she said that as if she still couldn’t believe that the nickname belonged to him. 

“Open your Bugphone,” he said softly. Her eyebrows furrowed into a frown, but she did as he asked and opened up her device. He moved next to her, not failing to note that she was stiffening and getting flustered as he did that. “Bugaboo… it’s me. Don’t panic please.”

She blushed some more. “I’m not panicking.”

“Right…” He chuckled. “You’re so funny, Marinette. Adorably funny. Please relax, I’m not going to eat you, I pawmise.” As he said that, his amused gaze locked into hers and he felt butterflies in his stomach as he stared into those gorgeous bluebell eyes. “Get to the tracking device and I will show you something  _ clawsome _ .”

She gave him a curt look and messed with the screens of her phone, reaching the function of the tracking device. “Now what?” she asked.

“Look here,” he pointed at the ‘last seen’ tab, and the ‘history’ tab. She tapped on the first one and it showed a green and black icon placed straight atop Montparnasse tower. But then, when she tapped on the history tab, her eyes went wide in amazement. There were dozens and dozens of green paw icons, placed straight on the Agreste mansion, and some instead were on top of Collège Francois Dupont. “If you’d seen that, what would you have thought?”

“What is this feature? I’ve never seen it before!” She didn’t answer his question and he was perfectly aware of that. 

“Plagg explained to me that our communicators are what our phone becomes when it merges with the miraculous,” he explained. “I did a bit of research when I discovered this and found out that Google has just introduced a new feature for Google Maps. It tracks the places where you go and where you were last seen, like a sort of diary of the locations you visited. Don’t quote me on this, but… I think it’s the way our communicator has integrated this new feature.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide. “But that’s  _ terrible _ . If Hawkmoth got a hold of our communicators he would discover our identities!”

“I hadn’t thought of that…” he admitted, bringing a hand to his chin and frowning a little. “But you must admit that it could be helpful if it ever happened that one of us was kidnapped, forced to drop their transformation and held hostage.”

“That’s true,” she said softly. “So… you saw my last seen icon coming up every time at the bakery, didn’t you?” He nodded. “And you had to come and check for yourself whether it was really me.” He nodded again.

“You could just like cakes and biscuits very much!” He laughed. “And Plagg was trying to trick me by saying that you may have needed to buy cookies to recharge Tikki. So yes, I had to check. I’m sorry…” He blushed. “Now your parents think that you’re in a relationship with a weirdo who goes around town wearing a black catsuit.”

She sniggered. “Well… he’s my partner… I may not be in a relationship with him…”

“Yet,” he interrupted her. He saw her face get more flushed, and he smiled his Cheshire grin.

“Oh please. That smile is way too Chat Noir-ish to be on Adrien’s face.” She gently pushed his shoulder. “And I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did. That was really terrible, Chaton. And so not you… so not both sides of you. Entering my room like a thief! You will need to work hard to make it up to me. And I told you to get rid of that smile. It’s too Chat Noir on you.”

“That’s because  _ I’m Chat Noir _ …” The Cheshire grin didn’t go off his face. In fact, it became wider.

“Yes. I need to come to terms with this truth. Give me some time…” She kept staring at the little paws on her screen surrounding the Agreste mansion, in total disbelief. 

“And I’m really sorry, Bugaboo. I don’t know what came over me. I know I did something terribly wrong and I’m not at all justifying myself for having done it. I will do whatever you want me to do to show you that I’m sorry.”

She gave him a sly look and a devious smile. “I may have a few ideas…” 

“I’m looking forward to it…” Again, the Cheshire grin. He was sorry, he truly was. He had been questioning himself even as he did it, and he knew that Plagg had been right, that he had gone a little bit too far. He expected some sort of punishment… as long as it wasn’t related to his food because his stomach was starting to rumble a bit. 

“M’lady… not to change the subject but… did you bring the croissants?” He wiggled his eyebrows expectantly. 

“You don’t deserve them.” Just his luck. Was this really going to be his punishment? She waved a paper bag under his nose. It smelled divine, even without the added senses of the cat. 

He attempted to snatch the bag from her hands, and she kept moving it away. He pouted. Was his lady really that cruel to punish him by not giving him his beloved croissants? He did feel guilty. But he was also hungry… 

“Come on, M’lady… I know I have done something I shouldn’t have done. But even you… are not a complete angel!” he finally said out of exasperation. 

Ladybug hid the bag of croissants behind her back and glared at him. “What do you mean, Chaton?”

“I heard that you stole my phone once and deleted one of my messages on my voicemail!” Ladybug’s face became the colour of her suit. Her sheepish look encouraged him to continue. “That was a nice nickname, by the way. ‘Hot stuff’. I wish I did listen to that message, you know.” Her face managed to become an even deeper shade of red. Encouraged by her embarrassment, he wiggled his eyebrows and gave her a flirty look. “It’s not a compliment I get every day!”

“Adrien!” She boomed. “Did you eavesdrop my conversation with Alya?” 

“Uh… I may have… a little…” he confessed. Now his face felt warm again under her angry glare. 

“Oh my God…” She covered her face with one of her hands, while the other was still hiding the bag of croissants on her back. “What else have you done that I should know about?”

“What else have  _ you  _ done that  _ I  _ should know about?” He looked up as his finger tapped regularly on his chin. “Let me see… you did enter my room once, to drop a present. And the fan club in Brazil was the worst excuse ever, by the way. It took me five minutes to check that it didn’t exist.”

Ladybug was still covering her face with her hand. “Oh please stop…” she muttered. “You knew that it wasn’t true and you didn’t say anything? You silly cat...” Then with a stern gesture, she moved the hand that held the bag of croissants right in front of his face. “There. Take them.”

“Yes!” His Cheshire grin changed into a full-beam as he grabbed the bag. His whole face lit up and Marinette next to him became even redder. “Do you mean that we’re even then?”

She moaned something that he couldn’t understand, both her hands cupped on her face now. Then, after a couple of minutes, she finally looked at him in that cringe-smile way that he used to associate with Marinette. It was really strange to see Ladybug behave so shyly in front of him. He found it cute. So cute.

“Are we going to eat here?” She finally said and they both looked around, but there was no seat to sit on that he could spot anywhere. “If so, you may want to transform,” she continued.

Adrien had opened the bag of croissants and was already halfway the first one. “I assumed that, for our first date, you may have preferred this…” He pointed at himself, “Rather than the one wearing claws… was I wrong, Bugaboo?” He smiled at her cunningly.

The soft look in her eyes would have melted the ice on Mount Everest. “Are we on a  _ date _ , Chaton?” She brought her arms to the nape of his neck and looked at him straight in the eyes, a cheeky smile curling her lips. 

“That was the idea.” His hand reached the nape of his neck and caught hers, wrapping around it and bringing it down. He put a soft kiss on the knuckles of her hand and looked at her intensely as he said it, with a shaky whisper, “I… I love you, Marinette. I… think I’ve always loved you, even before I knew you were Ladybug. But now I love you even more.”

She gasped and her eyes filled with tears as he released her hand.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. 

She sniffed loudly but held his gaze. “Nothing wrong; I’m so happy!”

Adrien wrapped her in a tight hug, and when he released her and looked at her again, he smiled his best smile. It wasn't his model smile, but the happy, sunny smile that lit his whole face and had earned him Alya’s nickname of ‘sunshine’. “I... thought of coming here because it’s where we shared our first kiss.” 

She put a finger on his mouth. “Wrong,  _ mon minou _ . This was the second. The first one was on the road.” 

True, he forgot about that one. “Doesn’t count. I was possessed by Dark Cupid and was trying to kill you. I don’t really like to think that as our first kiss!”

“But we both don’t remember the one we shared here. Although if we had dropped our transformation inside the offices, now I know perfectly well why I was kissing you.” She gave him a friendly poke on the shoulder. “I... love you, Adrien. You were the other boy… it was you all along!” 

His face became really warm as his hand reached again the nape of his neck. “And there I was, thinking that you had a thing for Luka…”

Ladybug’s eyes became as wide as saucers. “Well…  _ I  _ thought you were having a thing for  _ Kagami _ , mister…” She raised an eyebrow as his face felt even warmer.

“Kagami? Uh… no… she’s… she’s just a friend…” If looks could kill, he would be dead. Adrien couldn’t hold her gaze and stared sheepishly at his hands. “I… I know that once I asked--” he gulped awkwardly as he carried on rambling, “I asked  _ you  _ for advice on starting a relationship with  _ her  _ and… I don’t blame you for having thought that I was with her but…” 

“Yes… I wonder how I could  _ ever  _ have thought something as silly as that, Chaton…” was her snarky reply. 

The floor suddenly looked very interesting. His face felt even hotter now, so he knew he must have been matching the colour of her suit. “...But it didn’ìt work out be-because… she loved me but.. I didn’t… love  _ her _ , I-I loved...  _ you _ . Kagami and I are good f-friends and we help each other escape our p-parents…”

Ladybug’s eyes were still as thin as slits, although a small blush had spread across her face when she had heard Adrien say that he loved her, again. “I see. Well, you know... even Luka is  _ just a friend _ . A very good friend, in fact.” She must have noticed his mortified look, because her gaze softened, as her lips curled in a cheeky smile. Her hand reached his cheek and gave it a soft stroke. “But nothing more than that, Chaton. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

"That’s really good to know," he admitted; his face felt warm again under her touch. 

The cheekiness of her smile was making her lips look way too tempting. And it wasn’t fair that he couldn’t remember any of the two kisses they shared, while at least she remembered the first one. So… Adrien did what he’d wanted to do too many times in the last few months. He tilted his head and firmly, pressed his lips to hers. 

It didn’t matter where they were or who they were. They were a boy and a girl in love. And nothing else mattered. Nothing at all. 

* * *

**Author’s Note:**

**^-^ So here we are, that’s the end. :’( Hope you liked it. I know… I’m so sad myself that it’s come to a conclusion. It’s been amazing the love I’ve received for it, thank you all so much for the comments, favs, follows, bookmarks and kudos! Please let me know what you think of this last chapter!**

**Thank you again to my wonderful betas, to my friend genxha and to the amazing people who helped me edit the story, from the miraculous discord server** [ **https://discord.gg/5AQxgw** ](https://discord.gg/5AQxgw)

**I’m planning other stories… I have the first chapter of two stories written and in the phase of editing. Hopefully I can get more chapters written in the next couple of weeks and start publishing before the end of the month. I also have another idea that I’m planning, but I will need to wait for September to publish that one (it’s the rule of the fanzine it will be written for) (IF I manage to keep within the wordcount... -_- otherwise you will have it earlier!).**

**In any case, you will hear from me soon! Thank you all for your wonderful support again :)**


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